Currently the processing of biological samples has a number of key drawbacks. These include the requirement for relatively large volume reaction volumes—resulting in high reagent costs; high consumable costs; and labour-intensive protocols and processes, which are highly susceptible to cross-contamination. For these reasons complete control and isolation of each individual sample within the biochemistry process cannot currently be ensured. Composite liquid cells (CLCs), as described in U.S. utility application Ser. No. 13/147,679, offer solutions to many such problems.
Some applications of CLCs involve heating reagents and biological samples contained in a CLC. Such applications can include cell screening, immunoassays, nucleic/ribonucleic acid sample extractions, nucleic acid isolation/purifications, various different methods of nucleic acid amplification (including PCR, dPCR, qPCR, TMA, bDNA, LCR, etc), and nucleic acid library preparation for sequencing. Occasionally a CLC may contain a gas, for example, ambient air that has been trapped in or absorbed by the CLC, or gaseous by-products of chemical reactions taking place inside the CLC. The presence of gas in a CLC, especially a CLC undergoing thermal changes, can create problems in handling, aligning, stabilizing and/or immobilizing the CLC, problems that might not exist in a larger reaction volume. Misalignment can be a particular problem for optical detection systems that rely on accurate placement of the CLC at a predetermined site.